Deep breaths…deep slow breaths…

Rami repeated the words like a chant just as Yulhan had asked him. The night at the garrison main hall never really sat well with Rami. Ever since witnessing the death of Sir Tucci, he felt his being shaken and out of order, almost as if his soul was attached lopsided to Azul’s body seeking its way to release itself from such a life.

Rami breathed in once more hoping his pounding heart would, for once, calm its horses and let him rest. His hand automatically caressed the dagger sheathed to his side. The tiny detailed engravings on its hilt were serving as meditation beads as his finger-tips rounded the corners over and over again. He did not know what the engravings meant but he felt it reverberate a sense of calmness through his body ever since he picked up the habit the moment they left the North Western garrison burning to ashes. He found it partly amusing that this particular dagger was helping him calm his mind. After all, it was the dagger that alerted him to attack the garrison, the dagger that belonged to Dolovan, and the very dagger that brought upon this tragedy.

A flash of memory followed as the distinct moment of Dolovon kissing Tucci’s forehead bubbled back up. It was etched in his mind, the very moment Dolovan prayed for Tucci’s soul then stood with her sword held up above her. “Do what you need to do, Yara”, Tucci’s last words lingered as she struck him, letting his head detach and roll down the bloodied floors. It came as a shock that she would still do it. That she would carry on with her plan except it was her beheading her mentor’s head and not Rami. She looked away in anger letting Noor bag up the lifeless head on the floor while Rami held himself so desperately from descending into utter destruction starting from the gnawing urge to release all the contents in his stomach out in the open.

Two days they had traveled from the North Western border. And for two days Rami had not said a word. All that ever played in his mind was the last image of Dolovan looking down at Tucci’s headless body as the flames began to engulf the rest of the garrison as they parted ways.

The moment they reached Keimitaan, Rami had walked straight to Black Heart’s coveted white mansion intruding on Nanji and his family having dinner to dump Tucci’s bagged head on the lavish dinner table in distaste. Rami had wanted to scream. He had wanted to let it all out. But seeing how Nanji looked at his soot-covered face so proudly as if his expectations had been surprisingly exceeded, he had held back. He forcefully quenched the fire burning from within.

The intruding sound of a snicker broke Rami’s train of thought. He looked from the corner of his eye to witness Butcher admiring the Tucci’s head placed on a silver platter and balanced on the mantel for all to witness. Rami rolled his eyes in anger. He could not bear the disrespect he was witnessing all night. They had spat at the head, played with it, and downright screamed at it every time one would remember to pass by it. It stayed there being displayed like an art piece, rotting away. Then again, it was the reason for the sudden feast Nanji was throwing tonight. Rami’s triumphant win was the reason for such a feast and the token of such a win can somehow only be displayed as such at this hour of the night.

Nanji sitting at the end of the table banged on it, sending a rumble through the silver plates laid out, gaining the attention of everyone in the hall. The loud chatter died down as guests, who were wandering about the room, took their seats. Butcher dropped to a seat next to Rami while Kamaru and Elyan sat opposite, leaving room for Nanji’s family and a few other invitees to fill in the rest.

Nanji stood with a glass of liquor held up high, “Tonight we celebrate Azul for his victorious raid of the North Western garrison,” his eyes scanned the room to lock in on Rami as a wicked smile graced his lips, “Fire…I never thought you would burn the garrison down. Truly symbolic of Ravenous himself...”

Rami’s eyes twitched in fear of what Nanji would do if he were to find out he never burnt the garrison to begin with. But if Nanji were to think it a clever power move, so be it. He needed to save his neck and the necks of others around him. Rami exchanged a quick look with Noor, who was standing at the corner of the room with a few other workers from other divisions. Only they knew of the truth. Rami quickly looked at Nanji and bowed his head in polite acceptance.

“…And for you to bring the head of Tucci Bari to this very household is something needing a grand celebration. To Ravenous!”

A wave of cheers passed as they raised their glasses and clinked them, chugging the liquor down their throats beginning the celebrations.

Butcher placed his heavy hand on Rami’s shoulder catching his attention as the string quartet at the corner resumed their cheery music.

“A stellar performance, is it not?” Butcher asked to which Rami eyed him only to realize he was commenting on the string players. Rami smiled awkwardly, giving a swift nod.

“A stellar performance indeed, Butcher,” Kamaru added, clinking his glass with Rami’s as they both took a sip from their drinks.

“I take it that your men and goods are all accounted for, then?” Rami asked Elyan, who seemed to be too preoccupied with circling the rim of his glass over and over.

Elyan’s eyes lit up not expecting Rami to ever ask anything from him. “Oh yes, they praised you and your men for your bravery. Although, I must say the fire was a tad too much.”

Rami only smirked at Elyan, who took a sip of his drink, leaving even Kamaru and Butcher baffled at his statement.

“Ah well, Elyan is only jealous. You see, he expected you to fail. He even thought you’d run back crying asking for an easier task,” Butcher added, sharing a laugh with Kamaru as if they were laughing at two young brats trying to best each other. But only Rami knew he could have very well failed if it wasn’t for Dolovan.

“And that’s why I made sure to show off in the process of it all,” Rami commented, giving a sly smile towards Elyan. It was crucial for Rami to make sure they believed he did it. That he was the one that set the garrison on fire and that he was the one solely responsible for all of what happened after as well.

Butcher and Kamaru belt out laughing watching Elyan’s face sour in reaction. And with the loud laughter followed Black Heart making his way towards Rami and taking a seat right beside him.

“Well done, Azul. We are nothing but certain of where your loyalties truly lie now. Are we not, Elyan?” It was as if a father was trying to get his quarreling sons to make amends. But Elyan only gave a half hearted smile in reply.

Rami looked at Nanji then. His face was puffy with a light scar traveling across his forehead. He was only now truly seeing the man for himself. It felt odd to be in his presence. Such a domineering character that everyone feared seemed so charming and easy going when seated beside him so casually. Nanji smiled at Rami asking, “Did you know the scar on my face was caused by the very man you beheaded? The one up there?”

Rami’s heart stopped. He only stayed silent before Butcher jutted in, “It was Tucci and Yavan, wasn’t it? It was when they first raided our safe houses in the early years.”

Nanji nodded reminiscing those times with a melancholy smile, “We lost thirty of our best men that day. And we were imprisoned then tried after for conducting illegal activities within city borders.”

“And if it wasn’t for me you two would have still been in the dungeons to this day,” Kamaru added, sending the three elders to laugh it off. The history between them was far deeper than Rami had imagined.

“It was a mistake the former King made listening to you that day, Kamaru. If it wasn’t for you being a Lord’s son, we would not be having almost half of Keimitaan under our control today. You should have seen Tucci’s face that day when we walked free from the King’s court,” Nanji continued, “Ah! I heard it was Yavan Dolovan’s daughter that held you prisoner this time, is that right?”

Rami answered almost instantly, not a moment of hesitation to give anything away, “I believe so.”

“I hear she looks nothing like her father, is that so?”

Rami gulped not knowing what to say. He had never really seen Yavan Dolovan to really compare.

Thankfully Kamaru interjected, “I don’t believe Azul nor Elyan have ever really met Yavan like we have, Nanji. The answer to your question, you would have to find out for yourself, I’m afraid. But I hear she was shamelessly removed from the King’s Army for breaking the rules while leading her troops last year,” Kamaru added, taking a sip from his drink, “She must be in good standing with the King for him to let her serve as a King’s guard as her punishment.”

“That makes us the perfect target for her to gain her trust and claw her way back to the Army. I suppose she will be causing us trouble once more in the future,” Butcher said but stopped catching Elyan shaking his head.

“I don’t suppose so. There’s news that she had been at the King’s court begging for mercy for the past couple of days. And this morning she was stripped of her title and banished from Keimitaan, sent off to the Western borders for good.”

Rami froze. This was news to him. He wondered if everything that had happened, with a garrison set on fire and a knight beheaded, made her be summoned by the King.

Just then a happy and mildly intoxicated son of Nanji, trotted past dropping himself into a seat beside Elyan, letting his legs onto the table.

“That is absolutely true! I was there at the court this morning. She was stripped of everything, all of it!” Naran exclaimed, peeling an orange open.

“How many times have I told you not to sneak into the King’s court?” Nanji's deep voice rumbled at his disobedient son. But Naran only waved, dismissing it while adding, “Not to worry, father. I was with Lord Kian’s son. They never question him.”

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“She was stripped of everything, you said?” Rami couldn’t help but ask again.

Naran nodded, tossing a piece of orange in his mouth, “The main reason being you! Your little pyrotechnics startled the King. And with a headless Tucci to bury they were utterly disappointed in her for letting you escape. One could say she saw it coming. She didn’t fight the order. She is being banished to the Western border to never see the light of Keimitaan again. Shame I couldn't get a proper glimpse of her face.”

Rami couldn’t believe it. It made absolute sense. He could picture a grief stricken Dolovan with her head low listening to the orders of her banishment because of the utter failure of a plan she had to go through with Rami. With Tucci dead and a garrison on fire this was an attack on the King indeed. It surely startled the King to the point of anger towards Dolovan for a failed mission.

“So the young King noticed it then?” Nanji asked, entertaining his son's rogue adventure to the King’s court.

“Oh Father, stop acting as if it wasn’t the intention of all of this. Of course, the King noticed!” Naran smirked, winking at Rami. And to Rami’s surprise the elders seemed totally satisfied with a comfortable silence passing by them before Kamaru fell back into his seat with a triumphant smile adding, “Ah! The young King Oryu is finally forced to notice the Circle’s ever growing power, you say? Naran, how did he look? Did he look terrified? Did he sound shaken?”

Naran jumped at it as he positioned himself with his head low and shoulders hunched in his chair and said, “Like this. He was shaking in his boots avoiding each one of his advisers’ gaze like a mouse.”

A chuckle passed through the gathered six. Rami followed them trying not to look too disheveled at the sudden news he was being fed. And as the laughter died down Nanji looked to Rami quite ardently as if he was preparing a son, not his son, to take after him, walk in his footsteps.

“I must say I am quite impressed with how everything turned out, Azul. You’ve always been one to think outside of the box even as a child. It’s been a long twelve years of serving under the Circle for you. I think it’s time we start talking about the future of the Circle, is it not?” Nanji exchanged a quick glance with Elyan and back to Rami and then to everyone else before continuing, “It’s time we prepare for the inevitable taking over of the Kingdom by the Circle of Daggers. It’s time to dismantle the pitiful royal system to replace it with our own, free our people of the never ending torment and bring better days.”

A furrow in Rami’s eyebrows formed and disappeared almost instantly, hoping to not look so taken back by Nanji’s sudden proposal.

Dismantle the royal system? Take over the Kingdom? This was never in the plan or vision of anything Rami had ever hoped for. He only expected to go back to Azul’s residence and peacefully carry on his business of directing his workers to collect taxes that were due, occasionally loot, and divy out the pay for everyone at the end of the week. Whatever Nanji was proposing was far more work than Rami had in mind. It meant he couldn’t just crawl back into his attic and hide himself in there as he wished. It meant it was a box wrapped with an alerting label printed in bright red, ‘Danger’. He wondered if a garrison being set on fire and its leader beheaded would ever begin to lead to the unintentional beginning of a civil war in the Kingdom. He wondered if Nanji was simply redirecting the turn of events to seem like a conscious decision made by the Circle to finally start challenging the King’s sovereignty.

#

“This is madness. Are you certain of it?” Noor’s whisper echoed down the empty dark streets startling a bunch of rats feasting on garbage. Rami nodded in response as they watched where they stepped, letting the moonlight guide them in traversing Keimitaan’s network of streets. It was almost dawn when they left the White mansion finally detangling themselves from the set of abhorrent invitees wanting to go for another round of celebrations.

Noor huffed in annoyance watching the first sun rays peek through breaking the skies with a gentle blue. “This is not good,” he commented to which Rami threw his hands in the air to retort, “Obviously!”

They rounded a corner as Azul’s residence finally came into sight. The dark walls were slowly painting itself in the barely there sunlight awakening the world around. Rami spotted more rodents fleeing to the darkness as they sped through to reach for the door themselves.

“And they said Dolovan is no more?” Noor asked possibly for the fifth time now as if he could not believe his ears.

Rami nodded vigorously, partially sinking in a feeling of sadness towards her and partially feeling the relief of her not breathing down his neck every moment.

“It is good news, isn’t it? With her off our backs, you can make a run for the village, disappear before any of the Circle gets to know your true identities,” Rami whispered as he spotted a few of his workers shuffling in and out of Azul’s residence. They were all beginning to awake needing to get back to business.

“And what of you? Yulhan wouldn’t let you stay back. He’s convinced you will not survive here by yourself,” Noor asked, glancing over at Rami.

“He’s right about that.”

To Rami’s surprise Noor stopped at his heels making him track back to Noor who was staring deeper at his boots now. “What?” Rami asked back. Noor suddenly raised his head and looked deeply into Rami’s eyes.

“This might be a mistake but…you should come with us.”

Noor’s unexpected words made Rami stare back at him as if to make out if he was merely joking or not. But seeing Noor’s dead panned face Rami immediately started shaking his head in response.

“No, last time we got caught because I left with you—“ Rami started, only for Noor to cut him off the very next moment.

“No, Dolovan had her guards watching all of us, all of us. We would have been caught even if you did not leave with us. But this time, we leave now. We leave before anyone notices us, before the sun rises above Keimitaan. We leave this very moment.”

Rami took a few breaths realizing this was his chance. He did not want to go through with any of Nanji’s proposals to take over the Kingdom. He did not want to participate in any form of manslaughter or witness any such doings in any way at all. The image of Tucci’s head rolling on the bloodied floor was enough gore for Rami. For a person who thought could handle such vivid depictions of violence the reality was much harsher to face. He detested it. And above all he feared he were to do much worse if he were to stay living as Azul, sinning as Azul.

A swift nod towards Noor from Rami said more words than he ever could. They turned immediately to run to Azul’s residence. They had one important person to grab before they left for good.

The wooden double doors cracked open disturbing the small dark feline that had begun to take rest at its crevasse as Rami and Noor reached it. Noor almost punted the cat when Rami got to it first and shooed it away as an intruding thought of Tucci’s cat, Raven, crossed his mind. He brushed it away to look towards the door opening itself. From behind the doors appeared Heril stunned to see his master outside at dawn.

“You must be just getting back, Master,” Heril said, opening the door wide letting them inside.

“I will get him, you stay here,” Noor whispered before slipping through Heril and a few other workers lined up to leave the tavern that was closed for the morning. Rami stepped aside letting his men pass by as he waved Heril away, “Not now, Heril. I–I will call for you…later.” Rami hoped this would send Heril away, and luckily for him Heril did simply bow and scurry off leaving the door to bang shut. Rami sighed feeling half-hearted about not saying a proper goodbye to his right-hand-man. But now was not the time for sentimental goodbyes. He did not want anyone else to bother him for the next few minutes for he only needed a few minutes for Noor and Yulhan to turn up and they would be out of here for good. Yet to Rami’s horror, the tip of a purple laced fan tapped his shoulder quite solidly, startling him.

“You are up early, Master Ascari.”

It was Dolla in her pristine purple dress and her matching fan to her palm. Her eyes scanned Rami up and down twice before she waved to a line of girls by her side making them stand in a row in front of him.

“Dolla, of course, I was just getting back from Black Heart’s,” Rami hoped he sounded unshaken by her sudden appearance. But she only looked at her girls, asking them to stand straight in a pointed, strict manner.

Just then, Rami spotted Yulhan and Noor appear at the foot of the stairs. Rami’s eyes lit up. It was time. They had to hurry.

“Right, I must bid you farewell–” Rami started but Dolla only slapped his back with her folded fan pausing him mid sentence.

“Not so fast, Master. As promised, I have gone to great lengths in hiring serving girls and cooks to serve as your staff…”

Rami couldn’t believe it. It was the most inconvenient of timings. What was any of this going to matter to him in a few moments? He glanced at Noor and Yulhan signaling him to come to them. He only bit his lips in frustration.

“...Out of the hires, I have already taken four serving girls and one cook to ‘The Tigress’. The rest are yours, and they are here to greet you before they start their first day at work. Please, make your way to the kitchen to greet your cooks after I introduce you to your serving staff,” Dolla looked at the girls and clapped, “Girls, please greet your new Master.”

Rami sighed looking at a row of women standing in front of him. Their neat dresses of off-white shirts and mud-green pinafores moved elegantly dropping to a bow as if Dolla had taught them tirelessly through the night on how to curtsy. Rami wanted to wave them off and be on his way now that they had greeted their master, but to his horror Dolla continued, “Let me introduce you to Gariel, Helen, Arwin…”

Rami wanted to palm his face in annoyance seeing the girls start bowing one after the other as their names were called. He glanced over at Noor and Yulhan in a desperate cry for help only to catch them suddenly preoccupied with their backs to Rami talking to someone. Yulhan glanced back in terror at Rami only for a moment before turning back. Rami was about to hush Dolla and make his way over to them when the next name caught him back.

“...Raven…”

His eyes panned over to the girl with her head bowed curtsying right before him. He felt his breath catch itself in his throat as he watched her lift her head up and her body stand straight. The carefully wrapped scarf around her dark hair barely kept her locks in place. She was as fierce as when he first met her in the streets of Keimitaan in full armor ready to slaughter him to pieces. But today she stood there with no armor, no swords or dagger on display ready to strike him in his throat. Today she stood there in a humble servant dress blending in with the rest of Keimitaan, flying under the radar.

Rami blinked a couple of times thinking he was hallucinating before his eyes strayed to Noor and Yulhan’s sour faces by the stairs. A shadow behind them moved to the light as it dawned on Rami that who they were distracted with before was none other than Dolovan’s guard, her right hand woman. She stood there in plain clothes with a streak of flour across her face. Rami felt his head throb in pain.

If she–she is a cook…then Dolovon is a…

“The serving girls, Master Ascari,” Dolla presented them once more as the girls sounded out in harmony, “Honored to be at your service, Master Ascari.” But Rami only watched Dolovan as those words rolled off her tongue filled with distaste. Rami thought her clever for using Tucci’s cat’s name ‘Raven’ as her disguise for it surely caught his attention without missing a beat. He watched her as her glare only intensified by the minute as vengeance radiated from her being. She was back. And after all that had happened, she was back for blood.

All those dreams of freedom, all those plans to run away from all this chaos, and hide far far away, disappeared in an instant. He could only think of one word as he stared back at those vicious eyes. He could only want to shout out one word as frustration of all his broken dreams came to a realization. He looked at her once more, as the very words she uttered to him once repeated in his mind, “You will never escape me, Ascari. Never!”

Rami sighed letting his body give in as he let his lips whisper the one word he so desperately wanted to shout out for the world to hear, “Fuck!”